Four-high rolling mill and drive therefor



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V CHARTENER FOUR-HIGH ROLLING MILL AND DRlVE THEREFOR Filed Nov. 1, 1922 '7 SheetQ-Sheet '7 6 OIQ O mvenroni State of Pennsylvania,

Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

- UNITED STATES I I 1,522,413 PATENT OFFICE.

HEHPHILL COMIANY, PENNSYLVANIA.

OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA,

A CORPORATION OF FOUR-HIGH ROLLING MILL AND DRIVE THEREFOR Application filed November 1, 1922. Serial No. 598,346.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VICTOR CHARTENER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and have invented new and useful Improvements in Four-High Rolling Mills and Drives 'lherefor, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to rolling mills for metal, and more particularly vto four-high mills having two relatively large top and bottom rolls in frictional contact respectively with two intermediate or mid dle working rolls.

One object of my invention is to provide means for keeping the intermediate rolls in intensified contact with their respective top and bottom driving rolls. Another object is to provide novel driving means for fourhigh mills whereby the driving pinions will be relieved of some of the strain incidental to other drives known to me. Another object is to provide an arrangement of rolls and drives wherein the common tendency of the work fed to the rolls to rotate the.rollstand is absent. Other objects appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through several housings containing four-high rolls and drives therefor, the rolls, pinions, and driving spindles being in side elevation and parts being omitted below the housings 1 and 2: Fig. 2, an end view of Fig. 1 looking toward the right, the housing 1 being shown for its full width: Fig. 3, a section on the line; IIIIII of Fig. 1, with the coupling boxes omitted; Fig. 4:, a vertical section on the line IV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a vertical section on the line V-V of Fig. 1; Fig. 6, a skeleton view of one arrangement of the rolls and their drives: Fig. 7, a section on the line VII-VII of Fig. 4; Fig. 8, an enlarged view of the pinions shown in Fig. 6. their housings being shown in vertical section; Fig. 9, a vertical section on the line IXIX of Fig. 8; Fig. 10, a skeleton view showing a modification of Fig. 6; Fig. 11, a skeleton view embodying the principles of Fig. 6, but adapted to the use of two stands of rolls; Fig. 12, a skeleton view showing a modification of Fig. 11; Fig. 13, a skeleton ,view showing another modification of my invention; Fig. '14, a diagrammatic view .11 encircling the rods.

showing Fig. 6 in end elevation; and Fig. 15, a side view of the rolls showing the outer rolls grooved circumferentially. Fig. 16 is a. side view of a mill employing a five-high stand of rolls and the driving pinions and gears therefor; Fig. 17, an elevation of the left-hand end of Fig. 16; Fig. 18, a crosssection on the line XVIII-XVIII of Fig. 16; Fig. 19, a cross-section on the line XIX-XIX of Fig. 16, looking toward the left: Fig. 20, a cross-section on the line XIXXIX of Fig. 16, looking toward the right; and Fig. 21, an elevation of the righthand end of Fig. 16.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5, 1 and 2 represent housings for the rolls of a four-high mill. The roll bodies are between the two housings, and the necks of the rolls have hearings in the housings. 3 and 6 are the relatively large top and bottom rolls. and 4 and 5 are the intermediate or middle rolls which are in frictional contact with the respective driving rolls 3 and 6. The upper portion of each housing has means for keeping the roll 4: in intensified contact with its driving roll 3. As these means are identical for each housing they are shown in connection with only the one housing. marked 1. The said means includes two vertical rods 7 extending from above the top 8 of the housing at either side of the necks of the rolls 3 and 4t and provided at their lower ends with hooks seated in notches in the ends of the bearing blocks 9 for these necks. The upper ends of the rods above the housings are provided with adiusting nuts 10. between which and the housings are the expansive springs The roll 3 is adjustable verticallv and held from rising by the screws 12 which bear upon the bearing blocks 13 for the necks of the said roll and work in the caps 8.

A pair of vertical rods 14 extend from below the housings 1 and 2 up through the bases of the housings and at the sides of the necks of the rolls 5 and 6. and are secured by cross-keys 6' to the bearing blocks 15- for the necks of the roll 5. The rods are provided below the housings with the adjusting nuts 16, bet-ween which and the housings the expansive springs 17 are seated. By the means just described the middle rolls 4 and 5 are not only kept in contact with their driving rolls 3 and 6, but the contact can be 15 set of roll-driving necks being also the necks of 40 of the co the edges of the housing 5 the usual small adjustments of the pairs of rolls to accommodate metal of different gages without the necessity of adjusting the positions of the nuts or 16. The rolls are arranged in groups or pairs held together adjustably and elastically by intensified contact, or by contact increased or intensified above the gravital force of the upper roll of each pair upon its companion lower roll.

18, 19, and 21 represent a four-high pinions connected, respectively, by spindles 22 and coupling boxes 23 to the rolls 3, 4, 5 and 6. The necks of the said pinions are, at the ends thereof facing the housing 2, provided with the housin 24 in which the bearin s 25 for l! b the necks are adjusted by means of shims or metal strips 26 to keep the pinions properly in mesh or at any desired relation to each other, as when the middle pinions are not to intermesh, as shown on Fig. 10. The

right-hand necks of the middle pinions are supported in the middle housing 27, through which the necks 28 and 29 of the pinions 18 and 21 extendwithout bearings, these the intern-reshing driving gears 30 and 31, whose remaining necks 32 and 33 turn inrbearings in the housing 34. The gears 30 and 31 are driven by a prime mover (not shown) connected in any suitable manner to one neck 32'or 33, or to both, as, by one or more spindles 35 and coupling boxes 36. The neck 37 of the pinion 19 has the uppeifibearing 39. which is forked to pass the common "neck inion 18 and gear '30, and is adjusted ownward by the block 39 actuated by the bolts 40 which are connected to the housing and extend up through the cap 41, there being nuts 42 on the bolts to bear on the top of the cap in order to adjust the block 39, with which the cap contacts. There is a bearing block 38 for the lower side of the neck 43 of the pinion 20. the bearing being forked to pass theneck 29 and rest on the block 44. The blocks 39 and 44 are engaged for adjustment by the respective screws 45 and 46 in the cap and base of the housing 27. The opposing sides of the necks 37 and 43 hawv the respective bearings 47 and 48 with their adjacent faces tapered at each end to receive bctween them the wedges 49 operated simultaneously toward or away from each other by the right and left threaded screw 50 projecting from 27, so that it may be actuated by a proper tool. By operating the screw 50 and employing shims 26 of -'proper thickness the pinions 19 and 20 can be adjusted correctly. By driving one or both of the gears 30 and 31, the pinions 18 and 21 are directly driven. These pinions are geared, respectively, with the pinions 19 and 20 which are connected by spindles and coupling boxes to the middle rolls 4 and 5. The pinions 18 and 21 drive the outer rolls 3 and 6 through spindles and coupling boxes, the latter rolls driving the middle rolls 4 and 5, between which is the roll pass 51 containing a strip of metal 52 in the process-0t being rolled. Thus the middle rolls are driven by two connections from each of the inions 18 and 21. The pinions 19 and 20 eing also in mesh with each other, would be put under undesired strain in operations where the middle rolls would be rapidly worn, because of'the increased speed at which the outer rolls would tend to drive the middle rolls. The pinions could not change their relative speeds, theredrive all four rolls positively from all four.

pinions, but where the material is light, or the redurtion in its dimensions is slight, the arrangement shown in Fig. 13 is satisfactory, wherein the middle rolls 4 and 5 are driven only by friction with the rolls 3 and 6 driven from the gears 30 and 31 without the. interposition of the pinions 18 to 21. In this arrangement the use of the means described or equivalent means for producing intensified pressure between the rolls 3 and 4, and also between the rolls 5 and (i is particularly to be advised, though their use is helpful in the other arrangements.

In Fig. 1, the housings 27 and 34' are shown as closely together as possible for use particularly where space for the installation 1s limited. The compact arrangement of Fig. 1 renders it somewhat inconvenient to make adjustments and repairs connected with the housing 27. Where there is sufl'icient room, this inconvenience may be avoided by spreading apart the housings 27 and 34 and lengthening the necks 28 and 29, as shown in Figs. 6, 8, 10 and 11, in which the lengthened necks are marked 28 and 29. The housings for the pinions 18 to 21 and for thegears 30 and 31 are in Figs. 6, 8, 10 and 11, given the same refere lee numerals as in the preceding figures, but he letter a has been added. By placing the gear housing farther from the pinion housings, the adjustments of the necks 37 and 43 may be the middle rolls 4 made by the use of simple and chea shims :26 between the bearings for the am necks,

or by the wedges 53, or by other simple mcans,-thus avoiding the use of the expensive screws 45, 46 and of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 11 I show the driving gears 30 and 31 driving the top and bottom rolls 3 and 6, the latter being in frictional contact with and 5. The rolls 3", 4, 5 and 6 are respectively connected to the pinions 18, 19, 20 and 21, the (pin on 18 mesning with the pinion .19, an the pinion 20 meshing with the pinions 19 and 21, as m Fig. 6. The said pinions drive respectively the rolls 3, 4, 5 and 6. Fig. 1-1 differs from Fig. 6 by the insertion of the additional stand of four-high rolls 3 to 6 between the gears 30, 31 and the pinions 18 to 21.

In Fig. 12, the arrangement is the same as in Fig. 11, except that in the former the pinions 19 and 20 are not intermeshed for reasons hereinbefore given with respect to Fig. 10, where the pinions 19 and 20 do not mesh with each'other.

From Fig. 14 and also other views of the drawings it is seen that the direction of rotation ofthe upper and lower rolls and of the gears 30 and 31 and of the outer pinions 18 and 21 are such as to counteract the tendency of the metal entering the pass 51 to rotate the housings.

The working rolls 4 and 5 wear somewhat thereby causing the rolls 3 and 6 to drive them at increased speed. The working rolls are preferably made of very hard metal while the outer rolls 3 and Gmay be made of softer metal which can be redressed comparatively easily to reduce their diameters so that they may drive the working rolls without the slipping of one on the other. To reduce the amount of redressing of the driving roll I may, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, provide the rolls 3 and 6 with periph eral grooves which leave on the rolls the pe ripheral ribs 54 which contact-with the adjacent rolls.

Referring now to Figs. 16 to 21, I show a five-high stand of rolls with a five-high stand of intergeared driving pinions therefor, each connected to a corresponding roll. The roll-stand has the additional roll 55 between the rolls 4 and 5, there being two rollpasses, one between the rolls 4 and 55 and one between the rolls 5 and 55, whereby the metal strip 52 may go through one passin one direction and through the other pass in the opposite or return direction. The roll 55 is driven by the middle pinion 56. The gears 30 and 31 are connected by the pinion 57.

I claim- 1. In a rolling mill, a pair of parallel rolls in frictional contact, one beneath the other and sustaining the weight thereof, means for suspending the lower roll and. keeping it in contact with the upper roll with a force exceeding any downward force which the upper roll may transmit thereto, means for limiting the upward movement of the upper roll, and a third roll arranged to form a roll-pass between itself and the lower one of the said air of rolls.

2. In a ro ling mill, a pair of parallel rolls in frictional contact, one beneath the other and sustaining the weight thereof, means for suspending the lower roll and elastically keeping it in contact with the upper roll with a force exceeding any downward force which the upper roll may transmit thereto, means for limiting the upward movement of the upper roll, and a third roll arranged to form a roll-pass between itself and the lower one of the said pair of rolls.

3. In a rolling mill, a pair of parallel rolls in fzictional contact, one beneath the other and sustaining the weight thereof, means for suspending the lower roll and elastically keeping it in contact with the upper roll with a force exceeding any downward force which the upper roll may transmit thereto, means for adjustably limiting the upward movement of the upper roll, and a third roll arranged -to form a roll-pass between itself and the lower one of the said pair of rolls.

4. In a rolling mill, a pair of parallel rolls in frictional contact, one beneath theother and sustaining the weight thereof, a housing for the rolls, rods carried by the housing and connected to the lower roll and urging the lower roll against the upper roll. means limiting the upward position of the upper roll,and a third roll arranged with respect to the lower roll of the pair to form a roll-pass.

5. In a rolling mill, a pair of parallel rolls in frictional contact, one beneath the other and sustaining the weight thereof, a housing for the rolls. rods carried by the housing and connected to the lower roll and springs between the rods and the housings under sufficient tension to materially intensify the pressure of the lower roll against the upper roll. means limiting the upward position of the upper roll, and a third roll arranged with respect to the lower roll of the pair to form a roll-pass.

6. In a rolling mill, a pair of parallel rolls infrictional contact, one beneath the other and sustaining the weight thereof, means for suspending the lower roll and keeping it in contact with the upper roll with a force materially exceeding any downward force which the upper roll may transmit thereto, a third roll arranged to form a roll-pass between itself and the lower one of the said pair of rolls, and adjusting means acting on the upper roll of the pair and determining the size of the roll-pass.

7. In a rolling mill, a set of four-high rolls, means for driving the outer rolls positively, the outer rolls being in frictional contact with the intermediate roll adjacent thereto, and means for intensifying the pressure between contiguous rolls over that which is due to the metal being rolled in the roll-pass between the two intermediate rolls.

8.7 In a rolling mill, :1 pair of parallel rolls in frictional contact, one beneath theother and sustaining the weight thereof, means for limiting the upward movement of the upper roll, a third roll arranged to form a roll-pass between itself and the lower one of thesaid pair of rolls", and means for intensifying the pressure between the pair of rolls over that which is due to metal being rolled in the said roll-pass. I c

9. In a rolling mill, a four-high stand of rolls, means for positively driving the upper outer roll, the upper middle roll being in frictional contact with the upper outer roll,

- and the upper outer roll being supported by the up er middle roll, an

adjustable stop Vmeans for limiting the upper position of the upper outer roll, and elastic means for keeping the upper middle roll against the upper outer roll, and the latter against the stop means.

10. In a rolling mill, a four-high stand of 7 rolls, each outer roll being in frictional driving contact with an intermediate roll and the outer rolls having larger diameters than the intermediate rolls, va set of four-high pinions, the two upper pinions being intergeared and the lower pinions being intergeared, driving connections between each outer pinion and a correspondingly positioned outer roll, and separate means for driving one member of each pair of upper and lower pinions, the working pass for the mill being between the two inner rolls. 7

11. In a rolling mill, a four-high stand of rolls, each outer roll being in frictional driving contact with an intermediate roll and the outer rolls having larger diameters than the intermediate rolls, a set of four-high pinions, the two upper pinions being intergeared and the two lower pinions being intel-geared, driving connections between each outer pinion and a correspondingly positioned outer roll, and separate mtergeared means for driving one member of each pair of upper and lower pinions, the working pass for the mill being between the two inner rolls. 12. In-a rolling mill, a four-high stand of rolls, each outer roll being in frictional drivmg contactwith an intermediate roll, a set of four-high pinions consecutively intergeared, driving connections between each outer pinion and a correspondingly positioned outer roll, and means for giving rotary motion to the pinions, the working pass foi'l the mill being between the two inner ro s.

13. In a rolling mill, :1 four-highstand of rolls, each outer roll being in frictional contact with an intermediate roll, a set of fourhigh pinions consecutively intergeared, driving connections between each outer pinion and a correspondingly positioned outer roll, and a plural number of intergeared driving means separately connected to drive a pair of pinions.

14. In a rolling mill, a four-high stand of rolls, each outer roll being in frictional contact with an intermediate roll, a set of four-high pinions, the two upper pinions being intergeared and the two lower pinions being intergeared, driving connections between each outer pinion and a correspondingly positioned outer roll, a second fourhigh stand of rolls with intermediate rolls in frictional contact with an adjacent outer roll, separate driving connections between the rolls of the second stand and the pinions, and means for driving the second stand of rolls.

15. In a rolling mill, a four-high stand of rolls, each outer roll being in frictional contact with an intermediate roll, a set of fourhigh pinions consecutively intergeared, dr 1ving connections between each outer pinion and a correspondingly positioned outer roll, a second four-high stand of rolls arranged in upper and lower pairs of frictionally engaged rolls, driving connections between each roll of the second stand and one pinion. and means for driving the second stand of rolls. y In testimony whereof, I my signature this 9th day of October, 1922.

VICTOR GHARTENER. 

